Prepare for the unexpected as the complete Night Gallery: Season 2 comes to Blu-ray! Created and hosted by the master of mystery, The Twilight Zone’s Rod Serling, the spellbinding second season of this classic anthology series features a legendary roster of guest stars: David Carradine, John Carradine, Broderick Crawford, Sandra Dee, Patty Duke, Joel Grey, Yaphet Kotto, Elsa Lanchester, Cloris Leachman, Sondra Locke, Patrick Macnee, David McCallum, Ray Milland, Leslie Nielsen, Geraldine Page, Joanna Pettet, Vincent Price, Edward G. Robinson, Cesar Romero, Gale Sondergaard, Orson Welles, Adam West and many, many more. John Badham (Bird on a Wire), Robert Bloch (Psycho), Richard Matheson (The Raven) and Jeannot Szwarc (Jaws 2) are among the talents behind the nightmarish visions of Night Gallery: Season 2—available for the first time in HD, from 2K scans of the interpositives!
For thoughts on Night Gallery: The Complete Second Season, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
Night Gallery: The Complete Second Season comes to Blu-Ray from Kino Classics who continues the series with a stupendous 1080p transfer sourced from 2K remasters supplied by Universal Studios. Anyone who has seen the old Universal DVD collection will recognize that this new Blu-Ray is a night and day upgrade from start to finish. As usual, we should note that the preservation of television material was not always given top priority by studios and as such some limitations of the source material are apparent. Nevertheless, Kino Classics has delivered for fans with this release, as nearly all print damage has been cleaned up with very few nicks and scratches along the way. For the most part, the presentation preserves its filmic look with natural grain resolved quite nicely.
From the first episode, you will be amazed by the level of clarity and detail on this release which makes the show feel new again. There are small bits of the production design that are visible here for the first time from distinct textures in the makeup effects to certain text elements. Even a few ruddy special effects look a little more natural in this presentation. Colors are nice and vibrant as certain moments really pop off the screen. The black levels are pretty deep and allow for quite a bit more detail to come through. Lighting limitations still keep the show from revealing an immense amount of detail in the shadows but at least you do not have to contend with crush. Skin tones are mostly natural and lend themselves to showcasing an amazing amount of minute facial features, unlike the undefined DVD release. Those who have been wishing this would be given the respect it deserves on Blu-Ray will be dazzled by this standout set.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono mix which has been preserved very well. The all-important dialogue comes through clearly and never falls victim to any distortion or digital anomalies. With so many creepy stories, it is also pleasing to report that environmental sounds are delineated nicely which adds some texture to the stories. The track never lacks for power when it comes to the more kinetic moments. While you are never going to get the sound design on the level of modern genre fare, the activity that is present is perfect for this particular show. The music in the series helps enhance the tone of each story while never overpowering the dialogue or other important information. There are no noticeable instances of age related wear-and-tear. Optional English subtitles are included on the disc. The audio presentation is on par with the great video presentation.
Special Features
- Audio Commentaries
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- The Boy Who Predicted Earthquakes/Miss Lovecraft Sent Me/The Hand Of Borgus Weems/Phantom Of What Opera?: Film Historian Craig Beam
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- Death In The Family/The Merciful/Class Of ‘99/Satisfaction Guaranteed: Night Gallery Authors/Historians Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
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- Death In The Family/The Merciful/Class Of ‘99/Satisfaction Guaranteed: Television Music Historian Dr. Reba Wissner
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- Since Aunt Ada Came To Stay/With Apologies To Mr. Hyde/The Flip-Side Of Satan: Night Gallery Authors/Historians Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
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- Since Aunt Ada Came To Stay/With Apologies To Mr. Hyde/The Flip-Side Of Satan: Television Music Historian Dr. Reba Wissner
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- Fear Of Spiders/Junior/Marmalade Wine/The Academy: Night Gallery Authors/Historians Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
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- The Phantom Farmhouse/Silent Snow, Secret Snow: Legendary Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro
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- The Phantom Farmhouse/Silent Snow, Secret Snow: Screenwriter/Historian Gary Gerani
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- A Question Of Fear/The Devil Is Not Mocked: Novelist/Critic Kim Newman and Writer/Editor Stephen Jones
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- Midnight Never Ends/Brenda: Night Gallery Authors/Historians Jim Benson and Actress Laurie Prange (Star of BRENDA)
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- Midnight Never Ends/Brenda: Author/Historian Amanda Reyes
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- The Diary/A Matter Of Semantics/Big Surprise/Professor Peabody’s Last Lecture: Night Gallery Authors/Historians Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
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- House – With Ghost/A Midnight Visit To The Neighborhood Blood Bank/Dr. Stringfellow’s Rejuvenator/Hell’s Bells: Night Gallery Authors/Historians Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
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- The Dark Boy/Keep In Touch – We’ll Think Of Something: Author/Historian Amanda Reyes
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- Pickman’s Model/The Dear Departed/An Act Of Chivalry: Actress Louise Sorel (Star of PICKMAN’S MODEL) and Night Gallery Authors/Historians Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
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- Pickman’s Model/The Dear Departed/An Act Of Chivalry: Screenwriter/Historian Gary Gerani
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- Cool Air/Camera Obscura/Quoth The Raven: Author Mark Dawidziak, Director John Badham and Screenwriter/Historian Gary Gerani
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- Cool Air/Camera Obscura/Quoth The Raven: Novelist/Critic Kim Newman and Writer/Editor Stephen Jones
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- Cool Air/Camera Obscura/Quoth The Raven: Night Gallery Authors/Historians Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
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- The Messiah On Mott Street/The Painted Mirror: Legendary Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro
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- The Different Ones/Tell David…/Logoda’s Heads: Film Historian Craig Beam
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- Green Fingers/The Funeral/The Tune In Dan’s Cafe: Director John Badham and Night Gallery Authors/Historian Scott Skelton
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- Lindemann’s Catch/The Late Mr. Peddington/A Feast Of Blood: Night Gallery Authors/Historians Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
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- The Miracle At Camafeo/The Ghost Of Sorworth Place: Night Gallery Authors/Historians Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
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- The Waiting Room/Last Rites For A Dead Druid: Author/Historian David J. Schow
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- Deliveries In The Rear/Stop Killing Me/Dead Weight: Night Gallery Authors/Historians Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
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- I’ll Never Leave You – Ever/There Aren’t Any More Macbanes: Author/Historian David J. Schow
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- The Sins Of The Fathers/You Can’t Get Help Like That Anymore: Film Historian Tim Lucas
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- The Sins Of The Fathers/You Can’t Get Help Like That Anymore: Night Gallery Authors/Historian Scott Skelton
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- The Caterpillar/Little Girl Lost: Legendary Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro
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- The Caterpillar/Little Girl Lost: Screenwriter/Historian Gary Gerani
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- Lost Tales From Season 2: Die Now, Pay Later/Room For One Less/Witches’ Feast/Little Girl Lost: Night Gallery Authors/Historians Jim Benson and Scott Skelton
- TV Spots: The disc offers 19 TV Spots totaling 21 minutes.
- The Syndication Conundrum Part 2 – A Look At The Show’s Troubled Second Life in Reruns: This wonderful featurette which began on the first season Blu-Ray release continues with another 67-minute featurette in which Historian Craig Beam takes you through the issues that prevented Night Gallery from thriving in syndication from the low episode count to the inconsistent episode length, along with the misguided solutions for making things work for the stations. This entry focuses on the even more compromised sophomore season and how it impacted the artistic merit of the show.
- Revisiting The Gallery – A Look Back: A terrific 30-minute archival featurette in which various cast, crew members and historians take a look back at what made Night Gallery stand out, memorable stories from the show’s run, additions to the stories that were improvised on set, the secrets behind certain stories and more.
- Art Gallery – The Paintings: A nearly four-minute piece which takes a closer look at the creation of the memorable paintings featured in the show with an interview with artist Tom Wright.
- NBC TV Promos: A nearly two-minute collection of promos is provided here.
- DVD Easter Eggs: A 41-second look at on-set footage of Rod Serling preparing for an introduction.
Final Thoughts
Night Gallery has lived most of its existence in the shadow of The Twilight Zone, but judged on its own merits you can find a show filled with fun, creepy and exciting tales of the weird and unbelievable. Nothing looks good when compared to one of the greatest shows of all time. Night Gallery takes on more from the land of horror, and it does so very well as we get several tales likely to bring about nightmares in this second season. As is to be expected with an anthology format, this sophomore outing has its mixture of great and forgettable tales, but some of the high points are among the best the series has to offer. Kino Classics has released a Blu-Ray featuring a tremendous A/V presentation and a stupefying array of special features. This one is a wonderful addition to any collection. Highly Recommended
Night Gallery: The Complete Second Season is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this set free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.